Dragonfly
by The.New.Muse
Summary: Set almost 30 years after the stand-off on Miranda, this story follows the newest crew aboard the Dragonfly-class cargo vessel known as "Soaring Leaf" (叶飙升), owned and operated by Captain Emma Washburne. Follow their journey as the crew encounters dangers, wonders, and the truths of humanity as they travel through the 'verse! **New chapters every Tuesday and Thursday!**
1. I

The woman sitting in the bar wasn't paying attention to any of the ruckus around her. In fact, she wasn't even paying attention to the drink she'd bought an hour ago – it was still sitting on the edge of the table, untouched.

She sighed quietly and closed her eyes, trying to ignore the sound of raucous laughter and the scent of unwashed workers crowding around the blackjack table at the other end of the room. It was becoming more and more difficult for her to maintain a hopeful attitude lately, what with the locales she'd been forced to visit just to find a decent crew. More often than not, the interview ended before it even began. The men would get one look at her, turn heel and walk right back out the door – didn't matter what parts of the 'verse the woman visited, it was always the same. None of them wanted to serve under a female captain, and that was a fact.

"Emma, honey, bein' captain ain't about yellin' louder or hittin' harder than everyone else on a ship. It's about who can take a yellin' or a beatin' more than anyone else you know, and get right back up to prove it." It was something she'd been told by her mother a long while ago, and only recently begun to understand.  
 _Well,_ Emma thought, _if that's what makes a captain, I'd be a brigadier general by now_. Giving in to the restlessness and the nerves, she lifted the glass to her lips and quickly poured the entire drink down her throat, taking pleasure in the burning sensation before a warm glow settled in her stomach. As the feeling subsided, she went back to surveying the room, looking for any sign of her interviewee as she'd been doing every ten minutes since she'd arrived.

Just like every other proprietor of every other bar on the planet of El K'has, the current owner of this well-worn establishment (widely known as "The Clamor") was a conniving, backstabbing snake of a man. In this case, the snake went by the name of Barra Kru, but to most of the bar patrons, he was known as "The Barracuda". It wasn't without reason, either – stories had floated all throughout the planetary commlinks ever since he'd begun operating The Clamor, with the implication that he'd torn the previous owner's throat out…with his teeth. Following the initial accusations, the Federation had sent a black ops squad to meet Barra after he returned home one night, seemingly drunk and in no control of his faculties.

Needless to say, there wasn't much left of the squad by the time local law enforcement arrived the following morning. A few of the officers that arrived at the scene got a glimpse of the remains and promptly marched away in the opposite direction, deathly pale, eyes wide with fear. After that, there weren't any Feds visiting The Clamor, making it a good place to find Browncoats, mercenaries, and bounty hunters from all over the system.

It was because of this notoriety that Emma had chosen to visit the bar that night. If she hadn't needed a crew so badly, she wouldn't have even considered the idea of spending time at The Clamor. But she needed an extra pair of hands to get her ship back in the black, there was no way around that.

As if sensing her frustration and anxiety, The Barracuda made his way toward her, wiping his hands off with a towel cloth as he edged around from behind the bar and flashed his signature smile – all of his teeth had been filed to points, making him look more like a shark than anything else. He wasn't an exceptionally large person, but his dead black eyes and unnerving grin were enough to put anyone on edge, whether they knew him or not. "Well, well, what 'ave we 'ere? Been stood up, love?"

Emma glanced at the patron briefly and flashed him an unapologetic smile before returning her attention to the rest of the room. " _Kuài zǒu kāi_ , Barra. I've got my line in for a bigger fish." In spite his reputation, it was also known that Barra had a fondness for independent ship captains just trying to make ends meet. It hadn't been too long ago that he himself had been at the head of a ragtag gang of smugglers, so he held a certain respect for those continuing the legacy. This was the only reason why Emma felt it necessary to backtalk to the most dangerous man in the bar, despite the implied camaraderie.

Barra gave her a hurt look, pulling out the seat opposite to her and falling into it with a heaving sigh. "Oh dear heart, you wound me! Am I not the sole object of your affections?" His face suddenly broke into a sly grin as he leaned back in the chair, two legs off the floor. "…or is it th' lad that's been stewin' in the corner booth for the last three days? Hm?" Barra shook his head in false disappointment, looking into Emma's eyes, still grinning. "Tsk tsk. Looks like someone's losin' 'er touch."

Emma fought the urge to reach across the table and smack the amused look off of Barra's face – but more importantly, she was fighting the urge to turn around in her seat and frantically search for the person he'd mentioned. Fortunately, she was able to force herself to remain where she was, glaring at the bottom of her shot glass as she spoke to the man across the table through gritted teeth.

"Barra."

"Yes, ma'am?"

"How long have you known he was there?"

"I told you, it's been a few days now."

"And you didn't think it necessary to tell me?"

He shrugged semi-apologetically. "I just put two and two together, y'know. S'been a bit busy round here, in case you 'aven't noticed."

Emma lifted her head to glare directly at The Barracuda – but his focus had been diverted to the stranger in the corner. "Listen, _péngyǒu_ , I've been searching the whole gorram system for a respectable crew. This guy is my ticket into the Ring, and I need him _yesterday_. _Dohn-ma_?"

Barra looked back at her raised his hands defensively, as if to ward off the hostility being directed towards him. "Look, miss, if you want to talk to the fella, he's comin' hisself. No need to get tetchy." He nodded his head, seeming satisfied as he got up, wiped his hands off on his waistcloth, and made his way back to the bar. "And don't make a mess! I've got enough to deal with at the moment as is, a'right?" he called out over his shoulder.

Emma shot up out of her chair, fists clenched at her sides as she watched The Barracuda swim away, whistling a Federation marching song. All of a sudden, she felt a gentle hand grasp her shoulder from behind, accompanied by an even gentler voice. "Easy, _bao bei_. The man's more snake than fish, if you ask me."

She started at the pet name and whirled around to face the stranger – but when she did, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

The man wasn't so much of a man as…machine.

The first thing Emma noticed about him was his eye. One of them – the right one – was completely black. It gave the illusion of an empty eye socket at a certain angle, but there seemed to be a pulsing blue glow emanating from within, almost like a heartbeat. Without a pupil, it was impossible to tell where the man was looking – or if he was looking at all.

As he reached up to lower the hood of his cloak, a flash of metal and glass caught Emma's eye – his right arm wasn't even the genuine article, either. It looked to be a cybernetically augmented prosthetic, the kind that was usually attached to high-ranking Federation officials that had lost their limbs in the Unification War.

In an instant, Emma had her revolver unsheathed, cocked the hammer, and pressed the muzzle against the mystery man's sternum, his hand still holding the edge of his hood.

To his credit, he didn't even blink, even as she gave him a chilling stare.

"So tell me, _Fed_. Are you just plain stupid, or do you like dancing with death?" she hissed, pressing the gun against his chest. And to her complete surprise…he smiled.

"Are we dancing?" he replied as he released his grip on the hood of the cloak and grabbed the barrel of the gun with his left hand – flesh and blood, as far as Emma could tell.

She looked down at the gun, then back up at the stranger. Without breaking eye contact, she tugged the gun out of his grasp and slid it back into its holster. "If we are, you'll know. Believe you me." As she took a step back to size up the man in front of her, Emma noticed how quiet the bar had become. She glanced around and realized all eyes were on them – looking intently, mostly out of curiosity. Even the blackjack players across the room had ceased their horseplay for a moment to watch the exchange taking place.

Taking the man by the arm, Emma pulled him along as she began to make her way out of the bar, looking straight ahead without sparing a glance for any of the patrons that had stopped to stare.

When they finally exited The Clamor, the double doors banging shut behind them, the bar suddenly came alive again, even louder and noisier than before. Emma suddenly stopped and turned to face the man she'd been dragging along, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Alright, _péngyǒu_. If you and I are gonna be livin' on the same ship, I'm gonna need a name to call you by. Don't much care if it's yours or it ain't."

The man gave her a small smile and offered his left hand for a handshake. "Lucius. And might I say, what a pleasure it is to meet you…" He paused as her hand took his.

"…Captain Washburne."


	2. II

"Jakob! We have a guest on board, get out here!"

After getting no response for a minute or so, Emma gave a heaving sigh as she stood in the cargo bay of her ship, hands on her hips.

"That boy, I swear." She looked back to Lucius. "He's the best damn mechanic this side of the 'verse, but he'd have trouble finding his own gorram head if it wasn't on his shoulders." She shrugged and motioned for Lucius to follow her. "C'mon then, mister. I'll show you to your bunk." She gave him a smirk. "Don't be expectin' much, though. This ain't exactly a starship cruise liner."

Lucius just smiled back and surveyed the space within the Dragonfly. "Oh, I think this will do just fine. I'm no stranger to roughing it." He pressed his artificial hand against the wall, as if to try and feel it through the circuits and metal of his arm. "Besides…it seems like a good ship. Reliable." After a moment, he let his hand drop back down to his side and looked at Emma with a curious look. "Alright, captain. I'm ready for the tour." 

The Dragonfly was designed as a transport ship, with most of its storage space located in the tail. Not that it had anything in storage, though – the captain had been having a hard time trying to find any decent paying jobs in the system. Most contracts nowadays required a full crew for any kind of consideration, and that wasn't something Emma had at the moment.

It was a sizable ship, to be sure – more than three hundred feet long, with the full wingspan reaching out at almost two hundred. Four crew cabins and eight passenger dorms were situated between the cargo bay and the flight deck, making the Dragonfly an even more obvious choice for moving large shipments without sacrificing crew space.

Unfortunately, it was all space and no cargo until they found a job for her. Emma had been under the hopeful impression that her newest addition to the crew would have the resources necessary to find that job, but his countenance made her worry a little more than she liked. It wasn't his smiling, she'd seen plenty of false ones before, and his was genuine. In all truth, it just came down to the fact that the man had Federation-issue, physiology enhancing prosthetics that were a part of his body – and he still hadn't mentioned how he came by them.

Emma finally reached the first passenger dorm along the right wing of the ship, Lucius trailing behind as he took in every detail of the ship's interior. She keyed in the ship code into the entry pad by the door, and it slid open with a quiet hiss. She held her arm out towards the open doorway, inviting Lucius inside. "Here's your quarters. As I said, not too fancy, but it should do just right for a place to sleep."

He stepped through and ducked to avoid hitting his head against the low doorframe. Looking back at Emma, he raised an eyebrow. "Not exactly friendly, is it?"

"What isn't?"

"The doorway. It just tried to assault my forehead!"

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her. "What happened to "roughin' it", huh?"

He sighed and shook his head in mock defeat. "I guess this will have to do."

Just as he had set his rucksack down on the single cot and shrugged off his cloak, he heard the captain clear her throat. Lucius looked back – she was still standing in the doorway.

"Is there a problem, captain?"

"As a matter of fact, there is, Lucius." As she stepped into the room and slowly walked towards him, she gave him a look. "When I was going around asking for folks to join my crew, do you happen to recall exactly what the opening was for?"

He tilted his head to the side, slightly unsure as to the line of questioning. "Of course. You were looking for a mechanic who could keep your ship in the sky, and, I quote, "all of its pieces in one piece.""

Emma smiled sweetly as she finally stopped in front of him. "So you're the new mechanic, aren't cha?"

"Well…yes, I suppose so."

Her smile didn't waver as she continued. "Then where do you _suppose_ you need to be right now, mister?"

Lucius looked back at the captain, and all of a sudden he realized _exactly_ where he was supposed to be.

"The engine room, captain."

The smile dropping off her face, she gave him a scathing look that said " _Buhn dahn_ " and " _Now_ he gets it" in equal measure. "Nice work, Mr. Mechanic. Now git going."

Not wanting to lose his newest (and only) job, Lucius awkwardly scooted around the captain and made his way out of the cabin as quickly as he could without running.

As Emma watched him leave, she shook her head. Ai yah tien ah, _give me the strength. Give me the crew I_ need.

Almost as an afterthought, she realized that she hadn't heard from her pilot since she stepped foot on her ship almost half an hour ago.

" _JAKOB!_ " 

Jakob, as luck would have it, was napping in the primary pilot's seat, which was his usual spot whenever the captain went on-planet to meet a potential applicant to join the crew. It was mostly a strategic decision – sometimes negotiations went awry, and they needed to make a quick getaway from whichever moon or planet they had the misfortune of landing on. In this case, however, his interference wasn't necessary, which is why he'd taken advantage of the brief moment to get some shut-eye.

The holo-transmitter activated on the comms dash, emitting a faint beeping noise as it continued to blink on and off, indicating an incoming transmission. Jakob gave out a yawn, stretching his arms behind his head as he leaned back in the seat. Taking his time, he reached over and tapped the comms panel so he could answer by voice, grumbling about "no decent sleep in weeks." He yawned one more time and covered his mouth with one hand as he answered with a sleepy voice. "Jak here. How goes it, cap'n?"

When the captain's holographic image appeared above the panel, he realized it wasn't going to go so well – for him. Her face exuded impatience and irritation, even over hologram.

"Jakob, where the _hell_ have you been?"

He gave her a halfhearted, sheepish grin. "Would you believe me if I told you I was – "

"No."

"What if – "

"Nope."

"But – "

"Not a chance, _péngyǒu_."

He finally groaned out loud and laid his forehead on the dash. When he lifted his head back up, she was still there, looking mighty irked. "Well, Jakob? I'll be needin' an answer, and soonish, if you please."

As soon as he'd opened his mouth to respond, though, Emma waved at him to cut him off. "Never mind, I don't want to know. Look – I just got our newest member on board, he's getting himself settled in the engine room. Can you at least provide the courtesy of saying hello to him when you're not too busy doin'… _whatever_ it is you're doin'?"

Jakob gave her an attempt at a salute. "Aye aye, cap'n. Will do. But before I go off and do anything hasty, would you mind telling me where exactly where we're headed next? You haven't exactly been forthcoming on the details, so – " And just like that, the line was disconnected.

The pilot let out an irritated sigh and turned off the transmitter. "That damn captain – "

"Is right behind you, Jak. So behave."

He almost fell out of his chair from surprise, but instead gave out a strangled yelp – the captain was, in fact, standing right behind him. He hadn't even heard the door to the cockpit open.

" _Wou duh tian ah_ – ! Would you quit that? You're gonna give me a coronary one of these days," he muttered as he shook himself and glared at her. She just looked back at him with a small smile playing on her lips.

"Sorry, _mei mei_. Just keeping you on your toes." Emma brushed past him and stood in front of the cockpit window to stare off into the distance. "Besides…we've got scarier things to worry about. And sneaking up behind you every once and a while never hurt you." She sighed quietly, already lost in her own thoughts.

Jakob got up from his seat and stood next to her, glancing at her for a moment before focusing his attention on the endless sky above them. "So what's the story, captain? Do we have a destination in mind?"

Without looking away from the window, she responded to the question.

"As a matter of fact, we do. It's not too far, and we just have one more passenger lookin' for a pick up." Tearing her gaze from the landscape beyond, the captain looked directly at her pilot.

"How do you feel about making a trip to Londinium?"


End file.
